(10/20/15)- As you can note, some of the items in this article contain links
that no longer work. One such item was dated 10 13/04 (destinationrx).
One of our viewers, Donnie Hanes, recommended that we replace it with https://edrugsearch.com/We at therubins would like to thanks Mr. Hanes for taking the
time and notify us of the error. The following is a copy of his email:

(5/24/11)- New York City has introduced its first official drug discount
card called the "BigAppleRx" which is
intended to make medications more affordable for all. Any member of the public
can use the card, whether they live in the city or not.

The card is free of charge and is available for usage in more than 2,000 of
the city's pharmacies.

(10/29/08)- If you are looking for generic drugs or other alternatives to
brand name drugs try DestinationRx Inc. (drx.com), a
Los Angeles company that helps compare health care
prices.

Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs (crbestbuydrugs.org), the Website for the
nonprofit Consumer Union looks for the best price for different drugs with the
intended to deal with certain ailments.

The National Council on Aging has a database on its site, BenefitsCheckupRx.org,
that will help you find assistance programs available to you from the
drug companies

Wal-Mmart offers hundreds of generic prescription
drugs at prices lower than the co-payments charged by some drug plans. The
company charges $10 for a 90-day supply of over 400 generic drugs. It charges
$4 for a 30-day supply of those same generic drugs.

CVS Caremark charges $69.99 a year for its Health Savings Pass and provides
a 5% to 50% discount on generic and brand prescriptions.

Membership in Rite Aide Corp.'s Rx Savings Card
gets members of all ages special prices on 400 generic drugs and a 20% discount
on all other medications,

NeedyMeds.org lets patients search for applicable programs, search for local
help with paperwork and find assistance based on location or disease.

RxAssist.org allows patients to search a database of patience-assistance
programs by medication.

Rxoutreach.com (1-800-769-3880) offers more than 350 generic drugs at a cost
of $20 to $95 for 180-day supplies.

Partnership for Prescription Assistance (pparx.org or 1 888 477 2669) is the
pharmaceutical industry's site that helps match patients to more than 475
private and public programs with aid of an online tool.

(7/15/05)- If you are looking for information about what a particular state
is doing to help the elderly with prescription drug costs please go to the site
set up by the National Conference of State Legislatures located at http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/drugaid.htm.
We want to thank our viewer Christopher Uptergrove
for pointing out this site to us.

(5/3/05)-Merck & Co. announced that it would begin a discount drug
program that will offer discounts of between 15% to 40% on
its medications to uninsured Americans regardless of age or income.
Pfizer has announced a similar program except for the fact that its program
does have income restrictions. Most drug makers, including Merck have free
medication programs aimed at patients with incomes of less than $19,000.

One of the purposes of the program will be specifically aimed at
undercutting the price of Merck's medications for those who buy the drug
through a Canadian facility. A spokesman for the company also stated that the
discounts would be as large as those received by those who purchase Merck's
drugs in large quantities. The company said it would also launch an "aggressive
multimillion-dollar communications and grass-roots campaign" to raise
awareness of the program.

(4/24/05)-The pharmaceutical industry is initiating a new program called
Partnership for Prescription Assistance that will direct people to a toll free
number or to an Internet site for help in obtaining free medications. After the
phone interview, callers will receive forms by mail for the drugs sought, while
those completing a form online can print out the form. The forms are then taken
to a doctor for final approval. The Web site for the program is www.pparx.org and the toll free number is 888
477 2669.

The eligibility standards for free medicines vary by company. In general
most drug companies use two times the poverty level as the cutoff point for
their free medication programs. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the
poverty threshold was $9,827 for a person younger than 65 years of age last
year. Omnicom Group's Cline Davis & Mann developed the print and broadcast
campaign.

(10/13/04)-The most commonly asked question that we at therubins
get in our email are questions that relate to getting prescription drugs at the
lowest cost possible. This article will put this information in one place so
that hopefully you can find a site or program that will help you or a loved one
with the high cost of prescription medication.

There are now at least 240 programs, covering nearly 800 drugs, to help
people of various ages and incomes in obtaining needed prescription drugs at
discounts. The National Council on the Aging, a non-profit group located in
Washington has launched a site that can be quite helpful to you in this matter.

It is located at http://www.benefitscheckup.org.
"Anyone on Medicare who doesn't have insurance now for drugs and has an
income under $28,000 alone or $38,000 as a couple, will find at least one
program now to save them money," says James Firman,
the group's president. In addition, this site can help some higher income
people as well since it searches for about 116 patient-assistance programs
sponsored by the drug companies themselves. The site will also search for the
drug-discount cards sponsored by the individual drug company, or for combined
drug companies' discount cards such as TogetherRx.

The BenefitsCheckupRx site has a pull-down list of
drug names on it, so that you do not have to know the exact spelling of the
medication that you are seeking. You do not have to know the manufacturer of
the drug you are looking for since the site will give you a report with any
programs for which you should qualify, along with information on how to apply.

The site has information about 30 state-funded programs, which offer
discounts to older people with lower incomes. In New York, the Epic+ Program
offers aid to people who are 65 and older with annual incomes of as much as
$35,000 for an individual and $50,000 for a couple.

There is a prescription drug program that is available that will help needy
individuals apply to drug companies in order to be able to obtain their drugs
at no cost at all. The name of the program is the Medicine. The organization
will work in conjunction with your physician to help you apply to one of the
programs available from the various drug companies for no charge prescription
drugs.

If you go to the company's site you will find the application form needed
for enrolling in the program. Once you send in the application the company
states that they will respond to your application by return mail. If you want
to visit their site please go to http://www.themedicineprogram.com.
To quote from their site:

"Our function, in cooperation with the physician, is to assist
patients who may qualify to enroll in one or more of the many patient
assistance programs now available. These programs provide prescription medicine
free of charge to individuals in need, regardless of age, if they meet the
sponsor's criteria."

There are some membership organizations that offer prescription-drug
programs for a fee. AARP offers such a program through its "MemberRx Choice", discount drug card which is accepted
at many pharmacies, for $19.95 a year.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs covers the cost of prescription
drugs at a sharp discount for a small co-pay. The drug
must be prescribed by one of its doctors and filled at one of its facilities.

The U.S. government's site at http://www.medicare.gov
will also lead you to many public and private programs that will help you
defray the cost of your medications. The database will screen the availability
of the help you can get based on your state or ZIP code.

The site http://www.phrma.org will
screen for the manufacturer's patient assistance programs if you enter the
drug's name.

The site http://www.needymeds.com
will provide information about patient-assistance programs and a comparison of
discount cards.

www.safemedication.com is the consumer
site of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists. It provides easy to
read information on more than 700 drugs and includes a Medication Safety
checklist. It also provides information on the side effects of the drugs listed
and what to do if you miss a dose.

www.drugdigest.org is the consumer
site of ExpressScripts, one of the largest pharmacy
benefits managers (PBMs). It has information on drugs, vitamins and herbs, and
disease management. A Compare Drugs feature can help you decide whether one band-name drug might be better than another.

www.fda.gov/cder/consumerinfo
The FDA's Consumer Drug Information page has general information about prescription
drugs approved since January 1998, including some not yet on the market. Each
drug fact sheet has information based on the approved package insert.

www.rxlist.comAn
advertiser supported site that is continually updated information on the
most-prescribed drugs, including side effects, drug interactions, dosage and
precautions.

www.drugs.comThis
ad supported site offers a drug-interaction checker, pill identifier and search
function for information on 24,000 drugs. It also has the latest drug news and
articles, including reports on FDA actions.

(10/12/04)-www.NYAGRx.org has the
average prescription drug prices from all 62 New York counties. Under New York
State law pharmacies are supposed to maintain a list of their prices, to be
given to consumers on demand, for the 150 most popular prescription drugs. This
site which was set up by the New York State Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer
gives the average price for the 25 most popular prescription drugs.

Governor Rod R. Blagojevich, the Democratic Governor of Illinois announced
that the state and the state of Wisconsin had initiated a Web site for
residents of the respective states that would enable the residents to buy 100
of the most common drugs used by Americans for chronic ailments. The drugs
would be available at anywhere from a 25% to 50% discount from Canada, Britain
and Ireland. The address for the site is www.i-saverx.net